Rahul Dravid Reportedly In The Frame to Mentor Delhi Daredevils For 2016 Indian Premier League

The Delhi Daredevils'>Delhi Daredevils, who have wallowed at the bottom of the Indian Premier League during the last couple of seasons, could be boosted by a solid 'Wall' of assurance. (Rahul Dravid Says BCCI Should Formulate a Blueprint For Development of Sport at Junior Level)

According to sources within the Daredevils, the team is in talks with former India player and current Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid as their mentor for the 2016 edition of the IPL.

In a Times of India report, some sources have said that Dravid is keen to mentor the team but he is reluctant to become full-time coach as he wants to spend some time with his family. Reacting to the developments, a senior Delhi Daredevils official said, "Dravid is definitely one of the options. At this point, it's difficult to commit as the owners of the team are not in the country. Once they return, a final call will be taken."

In the recently concluded player auction in February, the team made some surprise purchases. They bought South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris for Rs 7 crore and West Indies bowling all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite for Rs 4.2 crore. However, there were some interesting purchases in the form of Khaleel Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror and Rishabh Pant. These players were part of the recent Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh where India lost to West Indies in the final

Dravid's influence on young players massive

Most of the Under-19 players selected in the Delhi Daredevils performed brilliantly in the World Cup. Pant had a wonderful time with the bat, scoring the fastest fifty in Under-19 World Cups and also chipped in with scores of 57 and 111 against New Zealand and Namibia.

Khaleel , the left-arm pace bowler, impressed everybody with his pace and accuracy. The most interesting thing is, he was handpicked by Zaheer Khan, who is a player-cum-bowling coach in the Daredevils team. Lomror picked up a haul of 5/47 against New Zealand and was impressive with his ability to restrict the runs in the middle overs.

Every player prospered under Dravid, with Under-19 skipper Ishan Kishan stating before the final, "His (Dravid) words have a lot of value for us. His appearance is very important especially when we are in a pressure situation. His batting tips are very helpful."

With the Delhi Daredevils closing in on Dravid, they would be hoping to change their fortunes and reach the knock-out stages in this edition of the tournament.